Ashtyn Overweg is our Executive Assistant. She joined the Choice Schools Central Office Team in May 2019. She received her Bachelor’s in Business Administration from Grand Valley State University. Ashtyn supports the executive leadership team within Choice Schools. She will be a project owner and manager for key initiatives designed to support the academies.
Carrie Paddock is our Director of Literacy. She graduated from Manchester University in N. Manchester, IN, with a Bachelor’s in Elementary Education. She went on to receive her Master’s in Education with an emphasis in curriculum from Indiana Wesleyan University. She taught elementary for eight years in Indiana prior to moving to Michigan. In 2005, she took an elementary position at Creative Technologies Academy, a charter school in Cedar Springs. During her time there, she obtained her K-12 Administrative Certificate in 2013 and became the Principal for Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment for her last five years at CTA. Her mission is focused on providing support to schools that increase the effectiveness of the instruction happening in the classroom, with a specific focus on all students reading at or above grade level.
Cheryl Paull has been with Choice Schools since 2009, joining the central office team in October of 2022. She serves in the role of Superintendent for the K-12 Scholar Model. Cheryl has two masters degrees one in Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment and the other in Educational Leadership. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, going on vacation and cooking. Prior to joining the central office team, Cheryl was a classroom teacher, curriculum coordinator and school leader at all educational levels.
Mandy Patouhus is our Director of State and Federal Programs. Mandy offers support to the various schools of Choice in regard to Title I, Title II, 31A, school improvement documentation, homeless populations, and compliance with state and federal requirements. She will manage and drive the programs related to federal grants and state-level programs so that those dollars and plans can positively impact student outcomes. She is a graduate of Ohio University with an undergraduate degree in Organizational Communication. Mandy also received her teaching certificate and master’s degree from Wayne State University. After a brief career in Organizational Development, Mandy spent many years as a secondary English and speech educator.
Kelsey Peterson is our Director of Communications. She leads our storytelling, engagement, and parent communication efforts. She joined Choice Schools Associates in June 2020. She previously worked at SeyferthPR, where she specializes in community engagement and strategic communications planning as an assistant account executive. She is a graduate of Hope College, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with minors in Communications and Political Science. Her role is to implement, engage and coordinate communication strategies that align with the schools’ and Choice’s growth and brand goals.
Yolanda Ramirez-Salto is our Administrative Assistant supporting the entire Central Office team. She is a bilingual professional who has a heart for service and is passionate about social justice. Yolanda has a background in social work and it has always been her career aspiration to be in a profession where she can help others.
Yolanda values family and when not at work, she enjoys reading, being around horses, playing volleyball and spending time with friends.
Jennifer Shiels joined the finance team at Choice Schools Associates in June 2019. In this role she supports the budget process, assists with grant management, compliance handles the financial reporting function and facilitates external audits for the charter schools.
Jennifer graduated from Central Michigan University in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and minors in finance and legal studies. From there she pursued a career as a public accounting professional with Deloitte, obtaining her Certified Public Accountant license in 2010 and gaining experience performing single audits on charter schools across the Midwest. Since leaving public accounting in 2012 Jennifer has ventured into several industries bringing budgeting and financial reporting experience from wealth management, not-for-profits, hospitality and wholesale food distribution companies.
In her free time, Jennifer enjoys spending time with her husband and two kids camping, hiking and biking. She also values maintaining a healthy lifestyle and seeks to incorporate healthy eating along with being active. Jennifer resides with her family in West Michigan.
Caryn Slater is our Chief of Staff. Caryn is passionate about developing the cross-functional connective tissue in an organization by aligning people to the strategy and getting the organization to work in harmony to achieve its ambitious goals. She will partner with school leadership and academy boards through strategic planning, creation, and implementation with a caring and understanding disposition that supports success. She comes from the non-profit sector. She has a Bachelor’s in Psychology from Kuyper College. She previously worked as a teacher and administrative assistant in an early childhood center, where her love for helping children grow and develop flourished.
Nick has been with Bradford since 2011 as the Special Education Supervisor and resource room teacher, and has recently joined Choice Schools Associates’ team under the same role in 2023. He graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a bachelor’s degree in special education and earned his master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Grand Valley State University. Nick’s commitment to student development is unparalleled, and we look forward to seeing his passion for supporting students and staff to reach their highest potential this school year. Nick is intentional in focusing on relationships among staff, students, and stakeholders within the educational community. Nick’s wife, Jessica, also shares his passion for education and focuses on technology integration in the classroom setting. They have a five-year-old son Jonathan who is starting Kindergarten this fall, and a two-year-old daughter, who melts his heart every day. In addition, the Stage family stays busy creating memories outside and enjoying nature as much as possible. A fun fact about Nick is that he was ranked #1 in the Midwest in Rock, Paper, Scissors. He accepted sponsorship and was sent to Las Vegas to compete in the national championship and has competed seven times in the world championships (world ranking #65). If you want to challenge him, feel free to ask, but he will most likely tell you that he “only plays sanctioned matches”.
